by Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY

by Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY

NEW YORK â?? The SEC's reputation as the top conference in college football doesn't carry weight as far as the NFL is concerned â?? at least when it comes to quarterbacks.

The conference can boast the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL draft, Jadeveon Clowney, and an NCAA-best 11 first-round draft picks, but the first SEC quarterback (not named Johnny Manziel) was drafted in the fifth round Saturday at Radio City Music Hall. With the 163rd selection, the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Georgia's Aaron Murray. One pick later, the Cincinnati Bengals drafted AJ McCarron.

"First, let me say that it's a blessing to be in the NFL," McCarron said in a conference call with reporters. "It doesn't matter if you're taken No. 1 overall or No. 199, like (New England quarterback Tom) Brady. It doesn't matter when you get picked, just about where you go and making the most of it when you get there. You've still got to perform no matter where you get picked, and I'm just excited and blessed about this opportunity.

"I feel like God has a plan and everything was supposed to happen for a reason."

Reports emerged that McCarron, who said before the NFL draft that the majority of the teams he spoke to graded him in the first round, was considered to be too cocky.

After going 36-4 as a starter with the Crimson Tide and leading the program to two national championships, McCarron became one of the most beloved players in Alabama's recent history.

"The thing about this whole process is, somebody can come out with something, and somebody runs with it and it's just like wildfire spreading," McCarron said. "I think it's a little crazy. I was voted captain three years in a row by my teammates. I felt like I was respected at all times. People listened to me. Myself and C.J. Mosley always made the team decisions.

"But somebody can tap on bad information and it hurts you sometimes. I don't believe those people. Everybody has a job and that's their opinion. I respect that."

McCarron threw for 3,063 yards, 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2013. As he continued to fall in the draft, derision on Twitter gained momentum.

Does McCarron have a chip on his shoulder?

"That's the way I've always played my game," McCarron said. "Coming up I've always been doubted in some way. But like I said, I'm putting that stuff to the side right now. â?¦ I've always kind of went to work with a chip on my shoulder because that's the thing that pushes me."

Murray is coming off of a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in his last home game at Georgia and threw for 3,075 yards, with 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2013.

"I'm really excited about this pick. Aaron was a phenomenal leader there at Georgia," Chiefs assistant director of scouting Dom Green said. "He was a four-year starter. He's the type of guy that his teammates rally around and gravitate towards. He's just an overall very competitive player."

Zach Mettenberger, taken 178th overall by the Tennessee Titans, is also rehabilitating a torn ACL suffered last season. Before the injury, Mettenberger threw for 3,082 yards, 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions at LSU.

Murray and Mettenberger will likely start their careers as backups, but with the uncertainty of Alex Smith and Jake Locker with the Chiefs and Titans, respectively, either player could eventually become a starter.

The first two quarterbacks taken on Saturday were Virginia Tech's Logan Thomas (120th pick to the Arizona Cardinals) and Pittsburgh's Tom Savage (135th pick to the Houston Texans).